Everything Warner Bros. Revealed About The DC Extended Universe And Its Future At Comic-Con
Warner Bros. stole the show at Comic-Con on Saturday with its DC Extended Universe offerings but what did we learn about the likes of not only Aquaman and Shazam! but also what comes next for these heroes?
On Saturday, Warner Bros. held a two-hour panel which featured everything from Godzilla: King of the Monsters to The LEGO Movie 2. However, by far their most exciting reveals came in regards to the DC Extended Universe as the likes of Wonder Woman 1984, Aquaman, and Shazam! were highlighted.
Now, we're recapping everything that was revealed during that portion of the panel both in regards to those movies and what exactly might be coming next for the DC Extended Universe moving forward.
It definitely feels like this shared world is now on the right track even if that is a lot more humorous than we could have ever expected after how dark Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were. Regardless, you can find all these big new reveals by clicking the "View List" button.
Wonder Woman 1984 Is Very Bright
Seemingly embracing both the DC Extended Universe's new tone and its 80s setting, the first footage from Wonder Woman 1984 was described as being extremely bright and colourful, not to mention somewhat jarring from the dark days of World War I that we saw in the first instalment. However, it doesn't sound like the follow-up will be too light in tone based on comments from Patty Jenkins.
She says that the main reason she chose 1984 as the sequel's setting is because it was a period where humanity's best and worst aspects were fully on display. That points to us getting to see some of the darker aspects of the Cold War which hopefully mean the movie will ultimately find a good balance.
Billy Batson Is The Peter Parker Of The DC Extended Universe
Be honest, you probably thought that title should go to Ezra Miller's Barry Allen, right? During the panel, it was said that Billy is similar to the wall-crawler in the respect that he's always amazed by what he can do, news which shouldn't come as a surprise when he's a teenager granted amazing abilities.
Zachary Levi was actually asked at one point whether or not Shazam is powerful enough to take on the Justice League and the actor was quick to point out that he is actually one of only a few characters capable of standing toe-to-toe with Superman, so it's going to be very interesting when they meet.
The New Aquaman Footage We Didn't See
The first showed Arthur Curry and Mera walking through the desert searching for Atlantean ruins which were once underwater. She then uses her powers to extract water from his brow which she can use to activate a relic which he responds to by saying, "You could have just peed on it." A hologram of Atlan then appeared and it seems as if they've discovered the location of his trident, something the fallen King says will "unite all our kingdoms, above and below" if it ends up in the right hands.
Clips were also shown featuring a battle beneath Atlantis, more of Black Manta emerging from the sea to battle Arthur and Mera, as well as one sequence which resulted in an explosive reaction as Aquaman was shown wearing his classic green and orange costume straight from the comic books.
Wonder Woman 1984 Isn't A Sequel...Wait, What?!
During the Q&A portion of the Wonder Woman 1984 panel, one fan asked Gal Gadot how she hopes the sequel will follow the first movie's success and her answer left fans reeling. "The way we look at this is not a sequel, it’s a new chapter, it’s a new story," the actress said before Jenkins interjected.
"I never want to do more of anything for the wrong reason. I don’t want to go to that place of 'How do you keep it going and cash in?' in my head. I have these characters that I love and this world that I love and we can make a whole new movie that’s completely unique and as strong as the first one? Of course I want to do that. But it’s not ‘more’ of anything, even though it’s evocative of everything that happened to the first one." In other words, it could be a standalone movie and not actually a sequel.
The ramifications of that are huge, especially as it could mean the movie will feature little in the way of ties to both 2017's Wonder Woman and what's happening in the present day DC Extended Universe.
Is "Worlds Of DC" The New Name For The DCEU?
At Comic-Con, the DC portion of Warner Bros.' panel kicked off with "Worlds of DC" going up on screens in Hall H. As a result, many websites have jumped to the conclusion that that's the new name for the DC Extended Universe. However, press releases sent out since then have made no mention of that moniker so it seems far more likely that was just put up as a way of introducing those movies.
As a result, the DCEU is still officially nameless. Call it the DC Extended Universe, the DC Films Universe, or lump everything under the Worlds Of DC banner; until we hear something official, they're all up for grabs. This would have actually been a good opportunity for Warner Bros. to change that here.
Wonder Woman Meets G.L.O.W.
According to one footage description, Wonder Woman 1984 looks a lot like an episode of Netflix's G.L.O.W. as it incorporates a lot of bright colours (as we mentioned at the top of this post) in order to give the movie an authentic feel. The clip shown to fans took place in a mall and features Diana Prince suited up and taking on a couple of criminals. However, a little girl ends up getting in the way.
Clearly wowed by Wonder Woman's presence, she nearly gets caught in the crossfire before Diana saves her by sending the youngster sliding across the mall and into the waiting arms of a giant stuffed teddy bear. She then unleashed her golden lasso on those goons and the clip ended with her racing through Washington D.C.'s streets (something we've actually seen in set photos/videos recently).
Over 100 Actors Auditioned For The Role Of Shazam
Apparently, Zachary Levi was "the biggest kid on set" when shooting was taking place but it was that which helped him to stand out during the audition process. Director David F. Sandberg says over 100 actors came in to try out for the role but, "When I saw his first tape, it was just perfect. He feels like a big kid. Lots of adults would play a kid in an adult’s body as dumb, but Levi choose to play him as enthusiastic and that made all the difference." That was definitely evident from the teaser trailer.
Geoff Johns Plans To "Reinvent" Green Lantern
During an interview this weekend, Geoff Johns provided a brief update on his plans for Green Lantern Corps and promised that he will "reinvent" and "re-imagine" the franchise which bombed at the box office back in 2011. He did, however, promise that his script will take cues from his comic book work.
That probably means we can expect to finally see the other Corps brought to the big screen but the fact Johns said he hopes Warner Bros. will like his script and want to make it points to it being far from a done deal at this stage as it clearly hasn't been given a green light despite a screenplay being written.
Steve Trevor's Return Remains A Mystery
Despite the fact that he died in Wonder Woman, Chris Pine's Steve Trevor is making his return in Wonder Woman 1984. That really doesn't make sense, especially as not only was he blown up but he should be an old man by now! Well, no explanation was offered at Comic-Con but Jenkins did promise that the character is a "very important" part of the sequel, so here's hoping more is revealed soon.
As Expected, No Sign Of Man Of Steel 2 Or The Batman
Disappointingly, Warner Bros. didn't make any DC announcements during its Comic-Con panel and that means we didn't get release dates for Man of Steel 2 and The Batman. Insiders have previously claimed that Warner Bros. is moving away from making any commitments it may not be able to stick to and the fates of these two movies clearly remains as frustratingly uncertain as it was this time last week.
With any luck, Mission: Impossible - Fallout will convince the studio that Henry Cavill is a bankable star, while we know that Matt Reeves is still working on The Batman's script so...that's something? The likes of Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad 2 also remain undated and the studio instead chose to focus on its upcoming releases on the way in the next year or so than any big reveals or unkept promises.
What did you think of Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe offerings at Comic-Con on Saturday? Would you have liked more big announcements? Share your thoughts with us in the usual place.